January 2013 – Gator Girl Art

2013 Vision Board

Posted on January 24, 2013January 24, 2013 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all.

I am sharing my vision for 2013.

It looks different from last year.

I don’t think I want as many things to change.

The only thing that I put on my board last year that didn’t materialize is NOLA Groundswell. We had some interest. We almost received a grant, but nothing concrete yet. I sent a letter off to the Internal Revenue Service yesterday asking for approval of our non-profit status. It has been over a year since our request, including a $400 fee for the government to consider our request.

Magnificent Maggie helped me. It is the same cardboard. New duct tape. New bristol paper.

The pink and orange glitter are the Pussyfooter colors.

Physically visible in my fishnets and feathers on St. Charles. Gator Girl Art visible in a gallery in the French Quarter. I will keep you posted on whatever else decides to be visible.

I swear, this snake just turned up exactly like this when I used a brayer with green paint over dried white paint and glitter. I added the eyes and nostrils. I wish you could see the scales.

In one of my We’Moon calendars, I cut out a piece about snake medicine.

Snake medicine is with us.

We can pretend our skin is not shedding,

we can attempt to remain underground, curled up and quaking,

we can refuse to digest our life and suffer indigestion.

Or we can embrace the magic of our transmutation–

Chew on our life, swallow and savor it,

Slither out of our skin and leap out of ruts with passion,

Swirl into new experiences and dance,

Then feel the sun on our skin and dream.

–Gloria Rohlfs 2011

OK. I said it. Words are powerful.

Maggie wrote “izmot”. She might have meant “tomzi” I asked her what it meant and she said, “Good Luck, happy celebrations, and love.” I couldn’t have said it any better. Isn’t that what everyone wants?

Happy New Year to y’all.

With abundant love, an open heart, and shedding skin,

Gator Girl

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Justice in Progress

Posted on January 19, 2013January 19, 2013 by gatorgirlart

Hi all y’all!

Carnival is upon us. 7 days until I sashay down St. Charles with the Pussyfooters. I am so lucky to be a part of this fabulous group of women.

Today, I am sharing a process. I painted this on Bristol paper. It was a little frustrating for me because I usually paint, paint again, paint over… I had to be a little more gentle with the paper. There are aspects that I like, and things I want to change.

I am painting a version of this same idea on a canvas.

What I wanted originally were hearts. It is a painting about love and our justice system. The new painting is making me happy with so many hearts. You might not see any hearts in the completed painting. It is important that they are there. I especially like the heart that the two women make with their bodies.

I found this quote, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” —Theodore Parker. Mr. Parker was an abolitionist who lived and died in the 19th century. I think he would be honored to be a proponent of marriage equality.

I will somehow put his quote on the painting. Right now, I am imagining it written on the arc of the rainbow.

I just wanted to check in. I don’t like to miss a week.

Next time I post, it will be my vision board for 2013. Miss Maggie is helping me with it. Her words are perfect.

With abundant love,

Gator Girl

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Shotgun Angel

Posted on January 11, 2013 by gatorgirlart

Good Morning all y’all!

I feel like I am finally back after the holidays and the flu. It might seem like a crazy thing to say, but being ill and sleeping 12 hours a day, does give a person time to reflect.

My word for 2013 is VISIBILITY. This word by itself might have thrown me back in bed for a few days. I plan on making my art visible to the public. I am thinking restaurants and a gallery. On the first of January, I was totally freaked out by this word until I realized 2013 is a whole year. I am currently making myself visible in my fish nets and corset. Pussyfooters is turning out to be a fun way to give back to the community. We make events sparkly and pink.

I found out at this event that the Pussyfooter women are totally nice. After this picture Miss Camille and Miss Becky tightened my corset until I looked like Miss Scarlet (in my mind). I was grateful. I had no idea you weren’t suppose to breathe.

I am nearly finished with Shotgun Angel.

The first thing I did was spray the canvas with Ink Spray Dylusions London Blue. If you want to try this, it gives a nice continuity to the painting, but be forewarned, the blue bleeds through as many layers of paint that you put on. At some point you might want to stop the bleed by painting some parts in clear gesso. Otherwise, your yellow house will keep turning green.

Next, I dropped paint on the background, straight from the bottle: white, yellow and purple. Then I sprayed alcohol on the paint drops and walked away.

I put layers of paint, drops of paint, sprayed more alcohol until I liked the background.

I drew the wings on the painting with white chalk. Then I laid the cellophane on top of the chalk outline. I drew the wings on the cellophane with a black sharpie a little bit bigger than what I wanted.

I painted her wings by spraying a mixture of glue, Pearl Ex violet powder, and alcohol on the underside for sparkle. I learned this from Bonnie Rose Bryan on Lifebook 2012. On the front of the wings, I painted featherish stuff with Golden Acrylic Titanium White. As an added bonus, the cellophane glows in the dark. Cellophane adds just the right amount of transparency for wings and lays totally flat.

I cut the wings out mostly inside the black lines. They are adhered with Golden Gel Medium.

When I look at the photo of my painting, I don’t like her dress outlined in white.

I do love how the stoops turned out.

I had to resist adding tiny details like birds and cats.

I am planning to frame this in old wood from an old shotgun house.

If there is anything that I left out, that you would like to know… just ask.

I was listening to Billie Holliday Pandora when I painted this. The angel must have been listening, too.

I have my next painting in mind. It is a political statement.

Thanks for checking out my blog. It makes me feel grounded and happy to connect with you.

With abundant love and gratitude,

Gator Girl